


Strategic Planning

by pherryt



Series: Till the End of the Line [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Captain America - Freeform, Cocky Bucky, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Jealous Bucky, M/M, Multi, Peggy POV, Post-Battle of Azzano (Marvel), Sneaking Around, World War 2, argument, bucky makes room, established stucky, panicky steve, peggy has an idea, peggy keeps their secret, practical bucky, steve can't choose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22029010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Peggy had hopes for her and Steve - until Steve went to Azzano and came back with Sergeant Barnes.  A change of plans was in order.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Stucky, World War Threesome - Relationship
Series: Till the End of the Line [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569418
Comments: 10
Kudos: 77





	Strategic Planning

**Author's Note:**

> yet another pre story one shot for Broken Angels... which lirael just looked over part 1 for me and thinks is good to go... but i'm still trying to decide if i drop 21 k all at once or not, when it's not a finished story, just a part 1 of 3... (I'm tempted because i wrote two bucky barnes bingo squares into it and those are due by the 31st... now taking votes!)

The war should have been all that Peggy was thinking about right now, and normally, she would be. She was nothing if not dedicated to her work, to saving lives, to ending the damn war.

But Steve was a distraction, even before Erskine’s experiment. And she had thought she was falling for him, until he’d gone off to Azzano and single handedly taken out a fortress, rescuing the prisoners and coming home with one, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.

He’d dragged in a number of other people, too, including a few oddballs with unique skill sets that had quickly banded together and become an elite unit under Steve’s command: The Howling Commandos, with Barnes at the head and always by Steve’s side.

There was jealousy, there, as Peggy swiftly came to realize what the two men were to each other and she was no longer quite so sure her advances towards Steve were welcome.

But he hadn’t said no, hadn’t asked her to back off yet, and so until he did, she would help keep his secret – _their_ secret – for as much as he was a genius tactician, Steve had some serious blind spots or truly horrible timing. Or both.

As such, Peggy found herself keeping an eye on the two of them, running interference as necessary to keep the two of them free of suspicion, all the while wishing that she wasn’t on the outside.

Then again, Steve reacted to her flirting, her light touches, like he craved more of it, and an idea was born in her mind. Barnes, in turn, was handsome enough and had flirted with her, with the assuredness of someone who’d never been told no.

So she’d said no.

Now she wondered if that had been the smart decision.

It would probably amount to nothing, but if it amounted to _something_ … well then, it would be… _really_ something. Still, only time would tell, and right now, time was not on her side. She’d lost track of Steve and Barnes a few moments ago, when a lieutenant had required her signature on some supply reports. By the time she’d been able to finish her duties – for they would always take precedence – Steve and Barnes had disappeared.

She hurried through the maze of supply, till she reached the section with the crates and the trucks. Voices had her stopping in her tracks before she accidentally ran into anyone and give herself away. Slipping sideways, she pressed herself against the wall of crates carefully and listened.

“You're different, Steve.” There, if she wasn’t mistaken, was Sergeant Barnes’s voice. She’d found them. Good. “Things are different – I – “

“Just the outside,” Steve protested. “It’s still me. I’m just able to do more now than I used to, just like I’ve always wanted. I’m healthy, for once in my life. Haven’t we always wanted that? To not worry if this winter would be my last?”

“It’s more than that, Steve.”

“This can still work –“

There was a shuffle, then Steve made a sound, a wounded noise that cut her deep. Barnes kept talking.

“And that dame, Peggy, think she’s got her eyes on you. You sweet on her?”

“I – Bucky…” Steve’s voice was small, tangled, choked. Peggy’s chest ached to hear it and she was filled with the sudden urge to hit Barnes for hurting Steve, after he’d gone through all the trouble to save him.

“You can't lie to me, Stevie.” A bitter bark of laughter and Peggy’s knees went weak, her fist coming up over her mouth to stave off sound. Steve wasn’t the only one hurting, was he? If she’d ever thought it was a bit of harmless fun, for them, she would have been devastatingly wrong. This was _real_ and how could she compare with that? The now familiar spike of red-hot jealousy and rage shot through her and left her gasping, stumbling back a step.

“You never could. I've known you forever. She's gone on you, it's clear as day. _Do you like her?_ Am I stepping back or chasing her off?” Barnes pushed and Peggy had the sudden certainty that the pain she heard rolling off of him was nothing compared to what she’d see if she dared step around those crates into their space.

“Jesus, Buck, I do,” Steve whispered. “I do.”

“Why her, Steve? All those other dames that never gave you the time of day, never could see what a great fella you were… and now you’re like this –“ Barnes’s voice cracked and there was a pause. “I saw how everyone looks at you now, like you’re a piece o’ meat. What makes her any different then the rest of them?”

“It’s not like that - _she’s_ not like that, Buck. She's like you. Saw me as _me_ before... Before all _this_. She’s a great gal, real special. But I don't wanna lose you either, Buck.”

“I'm right here, pal,” Barnes said, his voice soft. “But you gotta choose. It ain’t fair to either of us…”

Steve made an anguished sound and Peggy couldn't take it anymore, stepping around the crates. The two men froze, Steve clutching at Barnes’s uniform even as the sergeant moved to step back. Their faces shuttered close, Barnes frowning at her.

Steve’s face was wet.

“Peggy,” Steve breathed, looking between her and Sergeant Barnes.

This was all hanging on a delicate thread, Peggy knew it, and she didn’t know Barnes at all – except for what Steve had told her. She strode forward with her usual strong, calm demeanor - practiced armor that allowed her to do the things she did – but she was far from the serenity she projected.

“No need to look at me like that, fellas,” Peggy said, coming to a stop before them. She crossed her arms over her chest to prevent herself from reaching for either of them prematurely and scaring them off like skittish deer. And they were. One wrong move, one wrong word, they’d be gone. Even if they stayed right where they stood, they’d be gone.

“How’re we lookin’ at ya,” Barnes drawled out the question with a studied indifference, a hint of smirking charm that was obviously fake. Peggy hadn’t fallen for it the first time, and she wasn’t about to fall for it now.

But dear god, if he ever chose to send his real charm her way, she might be a goner.

“Like I haven’t already been helping you boys stay off the radar,” she said. “Please do not insult my intelligence by believing I am deaf, dumb and blind.”

“Why?” Steve asked, his eyes wide. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I like you, Rogers, and it’s clear to any dimwit with half a brain that you care for the Sergeant, there. I’m fairly sure at least half the Howling Commandos suspect there’s something up, and the other half isn’t far behind – and I’m also relatively certain they don’t give a damn.”

Steve drew in a shaky breath and wobbled a little on his feet, Barnes reaching out to steady him with an arm thrown over Steve’s shoulder and an indecipherable look cast Peggy’s way.

“But… what’s this mean? For us?” Steve tripped over his words, not so badly as that day in the car on the way to what turned out to be a successful experiment, but it was a near thing.

This time, she did reach out. She caught his hand in hers, glanced from him, to Barnes and back again. “It means whatever we want it to mean. Sergeant Barnes is right. I _am_ sweet on you. But the two of you obviously mean a lot to each other and I think only a fool would come between you.”

She sent another sly glance over at Barnes, allowed her lips to quirk up the tiniest bit. “Unless it was mutual, of course,” she murmured.

“What?” Steve asked. Peggy continued to stare at Barnes. He was the unknown in this equation. Was he likely to share or would he run screaming for the hills? It was obvious Steve liked them both well enough that it caused him anguish to be forced to choose, but the sergeant and her had barely exchanged a handful of pleasantries.

“You’re not serious, doll,” he asked flatly, dropping his arm from around Steve’s shoulders.

“Buck – “ Steve started. Barnes held up his hand and Steve quieted, settled back and waited without objection, his hand slipping from Peggy’s grasp. Well, wasn’t that interesting?

She stared up at Barnes, brow raised in challenge. Barnes eyes narrowed as he took a step closer to her.

“Are you-” Barnes crooned, taking another step closer “-offering-" his hand came up and cupped her jaw. She stood her ground and accepted the steady warmth “-to bed us both, doll?”

She quirked her eyebrow.

“At the-“ his eyes dropped down to her lips “-same-“ his thumb slipped up, dragging over her bottom lip and Peggy barely held back the gasp “-time?”

“Think you can handle that?” Her words came out strong, challenging and Steve made a strange, strangled sound beside them – not in protest, so Peggy kept her eyes on Barnes, distinctly aware of the rough warmth on her face.

“If I can handle Steve, I can handle anything,” Barnes drawled, dragging his thumb across her lip again.

“Is that a _yes,_ Sergeant Barnes?”

“Why don’t you tell me, Agent Carter,” Barnes whispered, leaning in close enough to Peggy that his breath tickled her ear, a minute shiver rolling through her. This time she did gasp when he pulled back enough to slide his nose along her cheek, tipped her head back and pressed in for a soft, _teasing_ kiss.

He pulled away with that smirking grin on his face, one where Barnes obviously believed he had the upper hand, and her eyes narrowed. Peggy reached up, grabbed his collar with both hands and yanked. He flailed, obviously not expecting the move as their lips collided and she proceeded to kiss the stuffing out of him.

When she let go, she patted his chest and said, with a breathless smile of her own as he stared down at her dumbfounded. “Still think you can handle me?”

“Never mind,” Barnes said with wide eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as the idea that she may have come on too strong, scared off Barnes and maybe Steve too, crossed her mind. Followed by sheer, giddy relief when he finished with, “ _You_ can handle _us.”_

“Good. Then I expect to see both you gentlemen in my quarters, tonight, 2200 hours. Objections?” She stepped back, looking between Steve and Barnes and back again. Both of them shook their heads, clearly dazed.

“Yes, ma’am, I mean, no ma’am. No objections. 2200 hours, got it,” Barnes said, all hint of challenge gone. Steve just nodded along eagerly, despite the fact that he hadn’t even gotten a kiss yet.

Well, that wouldn’t do.

Crooking a finger, Peggy said, “Come here, Steve.”

He obeyed nearly at once, eager as a puppy, and she drew him down into a gentler kiss than what she and Barnes had shared, nipping softly at his lip, swallowing the whimper from his mouth as he submitted so sweetly to her.

Oh, tonight would be _fun._

She trailed a hand down his cheek, drawing away from him, looking up at Steve through her lashes as he chased after her, eyes fluttering open on a soft _“Oh.”_

Peggy cast a side glance at Barnes, smoothed down her uniform, patted at her hair, then nodded briskly at them. “I want you boys to behave until I see you later tonight, is that clear?

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve said. Barnes hooked an elbow on Steve’s shoulder and leaned, hand dangling, looking her up and down, some of his challenging charm returning.

“If you insist, doll,” he agreed.

She raised her eyebrow once more. “Oh, I most definitely do,” she said firmly, then turned on her heel and walked away as steadily as she could.

Playtime, later. She had work to do.

* * *

* * *

**Bonus Scene**

Steve was staring at Bucky as Bucky stared after Peggy. Finally, Bucky turned to look at him.

“What?”

“I’m… surprised, Buck,” Steve admitted. “You’re ah… usually a bit more possessive. You’ve told me more than once, you don’t like to share.”

“I don’t,” Bucky responded instantly.

Steve’s eyebrows rose. “Then what makes this any different?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Because you care for her, punk, and she cares for you too. This isn’t some random dude down at the club, who’s just using you to get off.”

“Oh,” Steve said, the sound breathless, but he stared at Bucky adoringly. It was strange to see the look on a Steve that looked almost nothing like Bucky remembered but Steve was right - it was good to see Steve so healthy, to know he was no longer plagued by a list of ailments longer than Buck’s arm, but Bucky hated that now Steve was in the thick of it, in the middle of all the danger he’d been so glad to keep him from.

In some ways, to Bucky, Steve felt too innocent for all this and Bucky had failed to protect him from that, had failed to be there for him.

But if Peggy was something, was some _one_ Steve wanted, then Bucky wouldn’t get in the way. If Peggy was willing to take them both on, then Bucky would take what he could get. Peggy was a formidable woman, worth admiring.

Maybe they could make this work…

If the war didn’t kill them all first…

**Author's Note:**

> Rebloggable [ tumblr post here](https://pherryt.tumblr.com/post/189951753256/strategic-planning-part-2-of-the-always)


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